The Gift
by qheventer
Summary: Being revised... CT-5837 is different from his brothers. This difference causes him to go down a path no clone has ever been down. Can he take control of his life or will he continue his spiral down into darkness? Contains dark themes, read at your own risk.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi all, I know, another one. I swear this one is finished though. I just couldn't stop writing it, I'm in the proof reading stage right now so I'll put out chapters as I go through them.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything that has to do with Star Wars The Clone Wars. My original characters are my ocs.**

 **Backstory: So I picked up this Shadow Clone Trooper from a local guy selling Star Wars stuff, it was him and two others. I named the other two but could not figure out a name for him, just a random number that popped into my head, 5837. He instantly came off as sullen but funny at time. (Yes I gave them names and personalities, I'm a nerd.) He stayed 5837 for like a month because I couldn't think of a name. I even got use to thinking of him as 5837. Me and my cousin even said he has a name but doesn't want anyone to know what it is. We tried to think of a name for him, but to no avail. Finally it came to me and how he got it, and then I had to write about it. So this is his story. Hope you enjoy. Bonded is on hiatus...**

 _ **WARNING WARNING WARNING**_

 **AN: This story will have some things in it that could trigger some unhappy feelings in people. So,** **WARNING** **, this story contains bullying, name calling, abuse, murder, depression, and suicideal thoughts/actions, and blood. I think I covered it all.**

* * *

The first dream he remembered was of a young woman. She had long golden hair and it flowed all around her face. Her eyes were as blue as the sky. She smiled at him and brushed her hair behind her ear. When he reached out to her he woke up.

—

They had done something to him to make him different. Different from the rest of the clones. He knew it, felt it, heard their whispers, they're thoughts of doubt, their fear. The Force was all around them, he could feel it. It was in the way he moved in training, how he could avoid a blow from another cadet, or beat the computer simulations over and over.

They knew he was different, and for that they made him the black sheep. They taunted him daily, their instructor did nothing to stop it. Their instructor knew something wasn't right as well. And what good was a trooper if he couldn't over come some teasing from fellow troopers? But it did little to help CT-5837 learn how to cope with the constant bullying he was receiving.

"You're just jealous because I'm better than all of you!" He shouted after they'd pushed him down after their morning training.

"Why would we be jealous of you? You're a freak!" The other cadet laughed. "5837 is a freak! Why would we want to be like him?"

They'd all laughed and pointed at him calling him a freak. He clamped his hands over his ears, reciting the regs manual to himself to drown out the names they called him and their laughter. And then he felt her. A strong presence, coming towards them. It felt warm and inviting, full of encouragement and something that he couldn't describe, didn't have a word for.

"What is going on here?" Her voice was calm but demanding.

All the cadets looked up at the Togruta, they didn't know what to say.

"This type of teasing will not be condoned. Go to the Mess hall and eat your lunch," She ordered them, calmly. "5837, come with me."

He got up and followed her, wiping tears on his sleeve. They walked to an empty infirmary room and she picked him up and sat him on the table.

"Do you know who I am?" She asked him.

"You're a Jedi," He said but kept his eyes down.

She lifted his chin so he would be forced to look at her.

"My name is Shaak Ti, yes I am a Jedi and I sense a great deal of pain within you, 5837," Her voice was soothing to him, it eased something of his distress.

He nodded and more tears welled up in his eyes. "They hate me,"

Shaak Ti sighed. "They do not understand you. Not like I do."

5837 tilted his head at her curiously. Shaak Ti smiled and wiped away the tears that fell on his cheeks.

"I sense the Force within you, young one," She kept one hand on his left cheek. "You are special. Do not let them torment you into darkness. Fear causes people to do many things, sometimes bad things. Their fear of you can cause you to fear them and fear leads to anger. I do not want to hear about you fighting with the other cadets. You are better than that, do you understand, 5837?"

"I think so, ma'am," He said.

"Good," She gave him a small smile. "I will speak with your instructors and I will put an end to the bullying."

"Thank you, ma'am," He smiled.

She picked him and placed him back on the floor. "Go, eat. I will go speak with your instructor. And 5837, do not be afraid to come to me for help."

"Yes, ma'am," He nodded and ran to the Mess Hall.

Shaak Ti stood tall and strode out the door. She kept calm even though there was hurricane inside her, full of fury and disdain for the instructor and the Kaminoan's that had made 5837. A Force sensitive clone, what were they thinking? An instructor that wouldn't stop his cadets from torturing another cadet, what a cruel person he must be.

She walked through the facility until she was at Nala Se's office. The female Kaminoan looked up from her terminal screen and tilted her head curiously.

"Master Shaak Ti, how may I help you?" She asked.

"I'm here about one of the cadets," Shaak Ti stood in front of the silver metal and glass desk.

"Which cadet?" Nala Se laid her hands flat on the desk.

"Cadet 5837," Shaak Ti told her. "I've sensed something unusual about him."

Nala Se keyed in the cadet's number and pulled up his file on her terminal.

"Ah, yes. CT-5837. A four year old cadet. What sort of unusual things have you sensed about him?" Nala Se looked back at the Jedi Master.

"He is Force sensitive," Shaak Ti said.

"Oh yes, he was one of our experiments. The first Force sensitive clone. We modified his DNA with DNA of other Force sensitive beings. He will not be as strong as a Jedi, but it will make him stronger than a normal clone, he'll have more endurance, and will be more agile. He will not be able to use the Force as a Jedi does," Nala Se told her with a sense of all knowing in her voice.

Shaak Ti tilted her head at Nala Se. "He may not be able to use the Force as I, but he can still do things that make him stand out. It has caused him much grief with his peers. I request that I mentor him."

"He will be fine with his assigned instructor," Nala Se told her.

"He needs to learn the ways of the Force. It will greatly enhance his physical abilities, if that is your main concern with making a clone Force sensitive," Shaak Ti inhaled through her nose and let it out through her mouth slowly and quietly, she maintained her calmness.

"I will discuss this with the council and CT- 5837's instructor," Nala Se told her.

"May I ask, who is his instructor?" Shaak Ti folded her hands in front of her.

"His instructor is... Dred Priest," Nala Se looked at her from her terminal.

Shaak Ti's heart skipped a beat but she settled and nodded her head to Nala Se.

"Thank you," She turned and left.

 _A Force sensitive clone, the only one, how alone he must feel._ Shaak Ti thought. _And with Dred Priest. His presence makes my skin crawl._

She walked back to the Mess Hall, the cadets were cleaning up for the next set of clones that would soon come in to dine. She saw a group crowded around an individual cadet, it was 5837. He had his tray in his hands, his head was bent down. He stumbled forward as one of the other cadets pushed him. The others were poking at him and calling him _freak,_ another push form another cadet sent him down on the floor.

Shaak Ti marched over to the small group. She saw Dred Priest watching from one of the side entrances but she didn't care about him.

"Enough!" She barked at them, the amount of emotion she put into the order sent the cadets stumbling backwards and falling on themselves.

"Leave them alone, master Jedi," Dred strolled over to them. "The boy has to learn to stick up for himself."

"The only thing he will learn from being bullied is to distrust his brothers," She told him. "Where will that get him in the battlefield?"

"If he can't learn to deal with their treatment, one way or another, then he's weak and he'll never pass his tests on the sim," Dred folded his arms. "He needs to toughen up!"

With that he reached down and grabbed 5837 by an arm and snatched him up, he bent down to put his face millimeters from 5837's face and screamed at him. "Pick up your tray cadet! MOVE MOVE!"

5837 startled and hurriedly picked up the tray and its contents that had spilled every where.

"You can't coddle them, master Jedi. Not if they're going to be soldiers," He folded his arms and watched 5837 as he picked up every single piece of scrap food that had fell off the tray, utensils, and empty fluid carton. The other cadets watched too.

"You also have no need to be so callous towards them either," She raised her chin and dared him.

"You train your cadets the way you want to, and let me deal with mine," He turned toward her.

5837 looked up at them, as did the other cadets. Older cadets started coming into the Mess hall now, they glanced over that the Jedi and the sergeant instructor.

"I will call out abuse when I see, Sergeant Priest," Shaak Ti stood firm and he got closer to her, she was taller than him but her height didn't seem to deter him.

The older cadets had paused to watch, 5837 glanced over at them. One had buzzed hair that was blonde, the few around him had the standard short cropped hair, though one had a scar on his left temple that ran down the side of his face by his eye. He turned his gaze back to his instructor and the Jedi.

"Are you accusing me of abusing my cadets?" He was in her face now, practically on his toes, and was seething.

Shaak Ti was calm, 5837 could feel no rise in her emotions like he could feel in his instructor or the other clones around him. Excitement buzzed through him from all around.

"I am merely stating the obvious," She said.

Dred's jaw was clenched, his hands balled into fists, he managed to open one and poked her in the chest above her exposed cleavage. "I do not abuse my cadets."

Before he could remove his finger she grabbed his wrist and twisted it around and bent his arm and pulled him backwards and pinned his twisted arm against him.

"You would do well not to accost me, Sergeant Dred Priest," She put pressure on his arm and he yelped.

Some of the older cadets snickered. 5837 bent his head to hide his smile but his peers just gazed down. Shaak Ti let him go and he fell forward. He quickly stood up and held his wrist. He glared at the cadets and they quickly scurried away, except for 5837.

"Get a move on, 5837," Dred growled.

The young cadet jumped up and hurried off to put his tray in the recycle door for the droids to clean. Dred glared at Shaak Ti.

"I will be mentoring 5837, from now on," She told him, despite what Nala Se had told her.

Dred's nose flared. "You will not take my cadet."

"I will," She lifted her chin again.

Dred growled and stormed off. Shaak Ti glanced at the older cadets that were in line to get food that were watching them. She gave them a warm smile, and they smiled back. She loved how they smiled at her, they knew she cared about them, probably more than she should.

—

Dred was seething, 5837 could feel his anger rolling off him in waves. It was overwhelming, almost choking the breath out his chest. They were standing in line for some hand to hand combat training. And 5837 was dreading his turn, he knew Dred would take his anger out on him, he'd been the cause of all the trouble in the cafeteria.

"5837!" Dred barked from the middle of the training mat.

The small cadet let out a breath, trying to stay calm. He could feel the excitement of the other cadets as they watched him step forward towards Dred. The anger from the man centered on the mat was so powerful he could barely breathe. Dred told to take a fighting stance and 5837 complied, running on autopilot.

The next thing he knew he was being tossed on his back, the wind knocked out of him.

"Get up!" Dred yelled.

5837 rolled and got on his hands and knees to push himself up. Another cadet was called out on the mat. They faced each other, the other smiled mischievously at 5837. He could feel the cadet's excitement and his instructor's satisfaction of putting him down on the mat. But it wouldn't be enough for Dred.

He gave them the signal to begin their mock fight. The other cadet charged and 5837 stepped aside and drove the heel of his hand into the cadets back, causing the boy to lose balance and fall. But the cadet snapped up and swung his leg around and connected with 5837's knee. 5837 yelped and his knee buckled under him.

"GET UP!" Dred yelled.

5837 stood but his knee was in pain. The other cadet charged again and struck at 5837, but he raised his arm to block the blow and ducked just in time for the swing of the cadet's other fist. Though he was unable to avoid the blow this his stomach. He fell, clutching his aching gut, he thought he was going to throw up.

"On your feet 5837!" Dred ordered.

He started rising but the other cadet pushed him back down. The others laughed. Dred was yelling at him. He was trying to get up but the other cadet wouldn't let him. He started to panic and his stomach betrayed him. He vomited on the mat, his lunch from earlier oozed over the mat. All the cadets made 'ew' noises and laughed.

Dred shook his head and dismissed the cadets and they left 5837 sitting alone on the mat. 5837 crawled over to a corner and lied down. Tears dripped from his closed eyes. He sniffed and tried to calm himself down, but he couldn't hold back the sobs. He just wanted to be like the others, he just wanted them to accept him. He didn't understand why he had to be different.

Then he heard laughter and foot steps coming to the door. It stopped suddenly and he bolted up.

"Hey, kid. You alright?" There were four of the older cadets and they jogged over to him.

They crouched down around him and he felt something from them that he'd felt from the Jedi master. They were the ones he saw him in the Mess Hall earlier. The blonde one reached out to him but he flinched. It caused the clone's eyebrows to knit together.

"We're not going to hurt you," Said the one with the scar, it looked fresh like what he'd done to get it happened not to long ago.

The blonde one reached for him again and pulled him close. 5873 wrapped his arms around the young trooper's and he picked 5837 up. The young trooper felt tears from the small cadet fall on his neck. He didn't know what had happened but he knew where to take him.

"Where are you going, Rex?" One of the clones asked.

"I'm taking him to Shaak Ti," Rex turned to face the other clone. "She'll know what to do, Cody."

With that he turned and left, there was another clone cleaning up 5837's vomit. Rex carried his little brother through the hall ways like he weighed nothing. One hand on his back, his other holding the small clone up.

"Where are you going with that cadet?"

Rex spun around to face the masculine voice behind him. It was the instructor they had seen in the Mess, the one who Shaak Ti has twisted an arm to put him in his place. Rex deduced it was this cadet that he'd seen on the floor, the one they must have been arguing over. Rex took a deep breath. 5837 twisted and looked at his instructor and wiggled to make Rex set him down, but Rex kept a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm taking him to Master Shaak Ti," Rex stood tall, he wasn't sure about disobeying an instructor, but there was a strong need to defend his little brother.

5837 looked up at Rex and Rex glanced down at him and gave him a tight lipped smile.

"That cadet is going to his rack," Dred started walking towards them with purpose.

Rex squared his shoulders, puffed his chest out, and narrowed his eyes. It caused Dred to faultier, he slowed as he looked at Rex. He was older and couldn't be pushed around like the younger cadets.

"Then I'll take him myself," He pushed 5837 back.

"He's my cadet. Stand down, trooper," Dred ordered.

"No," Rex stood firm. "He's my little brother and I won't let you hurt him."

"I'm not going to hurt him!" Dred yelled.

Rex glared at him. "He's not going with you."

5837 could feel Dred's anger boiling inside him, but more than that he could feel Rex's fierce protectiveness that some how assured him, even though he didn't know the name of the emotion Rex was projecting. He held onto Rex as if his very life depended on it, and to him it did.

"What's you number!" Dred growled.

"CT-7567," Rex growled back.

"I order you to stand-"

"That will be enough, Rex," Shaak Ti was walking up behind Rex, 5837 looked at her and she gave him a small smile.

Dred laughed humorously. "Well if it isn't the almighty Master Jedi, come to save the day."

"No, just a helpless cadet," She stood firm beside Rex.

The other three clones were now walking towards them from behind Dred but they stopped once they realized that they were in a stand off. Dred looked at the other clones then back at Shaak Ti.

"Have him, for now. I'll get him back," Dred turned and pushed his way past Cody and the other two clones.

Shaak Ti placed a hand on Rex's shoulder. "Thank you, Rex."

"Just doing my duty, ma'am," Rex gave her a smile.

"5837, thank your brother for helping you," She looked down at the cadet.

He looked up at Rex. "How?"

Rex smiled at him and crouched down to his eye level. "Just like Master Shaak Ti did. You just say thank you. But in this case, there's no need for 'thanks' little brother. We're all brothers and brothers look out for each other."

"Oh," 5837 said and looked away.

He looked at the other three clones that had approached. He felt their warm affection towards him. There in them, it flowed through the Force, their acceptance of him. Their little _vod'ika_ , he'd heard other instructors say. He'd have to ask Shaak Ti what that warm feeling was, later.

She took him back to her quarters. The Kaminoan's had given her a large room with a large bed, a desk and a couple of lounge chairs. It was more than what she had at the Temple on Coruscant. Right now she didn't trust Dred not to come to 5837 in the young cadet's sleep to try something to hurt him. So he'd stay with her for the time being, until things settled down. It would be easier for her to teach him anyway.

He yawned, his fatigued little body making it known that it needed rest. She patted the bed and he crawled up on it and she wrapped him with the blankets.

"Rest easy, young one," She sat on the edge of the bed and ran her fingers through his hair.

Sleep came quickly for him in the sanctity of her presence. He need not worry about anything in her bed, wrapped in soft bulky blankets. For the first time in his short life he was safe. Safe from the cruelty of his peers and his instructor. Safe in her world, a place he hoped he'd never have to leave.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it took so long. But here ya go.**

 **Also I have made a grave mistake... Shaak Ti would not have been on Kamino before Geonosis. Annnnd, young cadets were looked after by older clone sergeants. Oh guess this where AU really comes into play.**

When he woke up, 5837 was confused. He wasn't in his sleeping pod. And the bed was soft, softer than anything he'd ever felt. He sat up and looked around. His body ached, from being punched yesterday and the usual growing pains that came from accelerated growth.

He looked around and saw Shaak Ti sitting on the floor, back towards the bed. He felt out towards her and the feedback he got wasn't like anything he'd experienced before. He felt her smile.

"Come here," She said pleasantly.

He hopped off the bed and walked around to stand in front of her. She opened her eyes and looked up at him and tilted her head.

"You've grown in your sleep," She stated. "Sit."

He sat cross legged in front of her.

"You.. I felt you poking at me," She chided him playfully with a smile on her face.

"I.. I-" He didn't know what to say.

"It's alright. Do that to non-Force sensitives and they won't know it's you. But do it to other Force sensitives, especially Jedi, and they'll know you're trying to get into their mind," She told him. "You apologize when someone calls you out on it. And you thank a person for helping you."

"Sergeant Priest didn't teach us the importance of apologizing and thanking someone," He looked down. "In our flash training it said we are to apologize for something bad and to give thanks for something good. But I haven't had many good things happen to me. Only bad things but I don't think I should be the one apologizing."

She put her hand to his chin and lifted it up so he was looking at her. "You apologize to the person doing you wrong because they do not know what sincerity is. And say to them that you are sorry that they only know how to behave brutally, and that you wish peace be upon them."

"Yes, ma'am," He said quietly.

"Now, I'm sure you must be hungry?" She dropped her hand and stood up, her robes flowed around her.

"Yes, ma'am," He did not move from his spot on the floor.

She frowned, noticing he did not follow her actions. "Then lets go,"

He stood up then and followed her out. They were the first ones to the Mess Hall and they got their food and sat at a table together and ate quietly. Once they were done they deposited their trays and walked out onto the balcony over looking the sea. It wasn't raining for once.

"Master Shaak Ti," He was hesitant to ask.

"Yes?" She looked down at him.

"What... what is that warm light feeling I was getting from the older clones?" He looked out at the sea.

She smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "That was love, young cadet. Your older brothers love you."

"Love?" His brows furrowed. "I've never experienced that feeling from my peers. It was always fear, hate, or excitement when they were taunting me."

"They were taught to fear what they do not understand from Dred Priest. They will struggle when they are on the battlefield. Fear of the unknown will only hinder them and could cause their deaths," She frowned.

"Then, we need to teach them not to be afraid," He looked up at her.

She searched his features. "Are you saying you want to go back?"

"They're my brothers, and brothers look out for each other," He looked back at the sea.

Shaak Ti smiled. Leave it to CT-7567 to teach this young one about brotherhood. A cadet he barely knew but stood up for against an instructor so formidable as Dred Priest. That cadet wouldn't be killed on the battlefield like some of the unlucky ones.

A year had gone by and CT-5837 remained under Master Shaak Ti's tutelage. He was getting stronger in the Force, which came to no surprise to her. Clones were special, even if they looked the same, they were each their own person. They were masters at adapting and were quick to learn. She was sure that 5837 had yet to unlock his true potential, though he was well on his way.

There had been a ceremony for some of the older clones. Clones that had fought in the Geonosian war and returned for further training. 5837 watched from a cat walk, hidden as the clones were given awards for their stellar performances. Among them were the ones that helped him get to Shaak Ti. The now Captain Rex accepted his promotion and award for passing his ARC training.

"What are you doing?" 5837 startled from his prone position at the sound of Shaak Ti's voice. She always managed to find him. "Watching the ceremony. Rex is down there!"

She smiled. "So he is,"

She sat down on the grated flooring with him and they watched. She looked at him, he'd grown a lot in the past couple weeks. His face was shaping up, losing it's babyish look, and he was getting taller. Rightly so, his sixth birthday was coming up, in normal years he'd be twelve years old.

"Maybe some day I can become a ARC trooper," He said quietly.

"Maybe, but then you'd have to actually go to training for that," She smiled at him.

He'd been skipping training in favor of meditating. He found peace in the practice and she didn't have it in her to scold him on it. He'd had enough scolding to last him a life time in her opinion.

He smiled, it wasn't something he did often. Even though he wanted to help his brothers he still found it difficult to face them and it left him in a sour mood. She'd never witnessed a clone that could become so withdrawn from his own brothers, then again, he'd gone through more abuse than most clones had. She could feel a blackness wash over him when his thoughts went that way and he would close himself off from everyone, including her.

She worried about him, though when he came out of it he felt light again. She didn't sense the dark side in him, just a cold blackness of him drawing into himself and locking down. When he did that she couldn't even sense his presence. There was just a void where the boy sat.

"Yeah, yeah, ok," He told her and went back to his scouting of the ceremony.

"No time like the present, Three Seven," She'd taken to calling him that and he accepted it.

He hadn't chosen a name and no one had given him one yet either. She didn't want to be the one to take that ritual away from him. Only the clones named themselves, no one did it for them.

He sighed. "Ok,"

Then he shuffled to his feet as she did and followed her from the cat walk to a door that led back inside the facility. She led him to the training room where Dred was presently teaching the cadets more hand to hand combat moves. Before the got within earshot of the room she stopped him and faced him.

"Remember your breathing," She put her hands on his shoulders.

"Yes, ma'am,"

"Pace your self,"

"I will,"

"Let the others exert themselves,"

"Ok,"

"Remember to let the Force guide you,"

"Yes, Jedi'buir,"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Sorry?" He gave her a big smile that made his eyes squint.

"Go," She pushed him towards the door.

He jogged to the door and slowed to a walk to enter. Everyone stopped to watch him take his place in line. Dred cocked his head and looked towards the door, but Shaak Ti didn't show her presence, though Three Seven could still feel her near.

"Well, so glad you could join us, 5837," Dred put his hands behind his back. "Care to join us on the mat?"

Three Seven took a deep breath and stepped on the mat. He faced the other cadet. Three Seven had learned a lot in the two weeks he'd spent with Shaak Ti. For instance, he bowed at his peer. All the ones on the side line laughed and the one in front of him looked confused, he looked at Dred as if to ask 'do I bow too?'

Three Seven smiled and took the opportunity to attack with his fellow's guard down. The other cadet instinctively put his arms up to defend himself. Three Seven backed off and circled him. He could sense the other's fear, fear of Dred, fear of losing, fear of Three Seven. He frowned, he didn't want his brothers to fear him. He stopped and dropped his shoulders.

The other cadet took it as a surrender and attacked, as he had been trained to do. Three Seven just side stepped away. When the cadet rushed him again he side stepped again and stuck his foot out to trip the other. All the cadets laughed as the other went down. Dred barked at him to get up. Three Seven walked up to him and held his hand out.

The cadet looked at Three Seven's hand then up at Three Seven. He took his hand and Three Seven smiled, but it was quickly vanquished when the cadet suddenly jerked down on his hand. Three Seven fell forward, he stuck his other hand out to catch himself, the other cadet twisted up and kneed him in the stomach. Three Seven grunted with pain when he hit the floor.

The other cadet was on top of him, punching him in the stomach. Three Seven tried to shield himself from he punches, he could think of ways to easily dismount the other cadet, but he didn't want to hurt his brother.

"Fight him 5837!" Dred shouted.

The other cadet tried to punch him in the face but Three Seven blocked it. Again he was hit in the ribs.

"FIGHT!" Dred yelled.

"NO!" Three Seven yelled back.

The next thing he knew the cadet was being snatched off and Dred had him by the collar and picked him up.

"What did you say to me?" Dred said through clenched teeth.

"I said no!" His voice crackled with his coming of age.

"You don't say no to me, boy!" Dred slammed him down on the mat.

For a few moment Three Seven couldn't breathe, he looked at his brothers, they all looked worried. He felt their worry but also their fear. Dred walked over to him and picked him back up.

"I said fight!" He barked.

"I said no! I don't want to fight my brothers!" Three Seven said after he was able to get his breath.

Dred punched him in the gut and dropped him. Three Seven coughed and held onto his stomach.

"Worthless, pathetic. If you can't fight them then how are you suppose to fight the Separatist? And all the other bad guys the Republic wants you to fight? HUH!?" Dred was bent down in face. "If you don't train here, fighting your brothers, then how are you suppose to make it on the battlefield?"

Three Seven focused on his breathing, trying to ignore the anger and hatred that rolled off Dred.

"Get out of my sight, you're useless. A worthless piece of flesh. I'll be sure to let the Kaminoans they messed up when it came to you. Yeah, and they'll probably want to rectify their mistake and exterminate you."

Three Seven looked up at him with wide eyes. He scrambled to his feet and ran from the room, he ran into Shaak Ti but pulled from her grasp and ran away from her. He had to get away, away from all the emotion. He couldn't take it any more.

He found himself in the hanger, where the ceremony had taken place. Everyone was gone now, except for a few troopers that were working on some of the aircraft. He climbed into one of the LAAT/i's and sat on the floor in the back corner. His stomach hurt but if he focused enough he could block out the pain. He sat with his arms around his legs and chin on his knees, starring into space.

"All I'm saying is, I could be an ARCie,"

"Yeah, _right._ And I could be a Jedi Knight,"

"You keep making fun of me, Yip. You'll- hey, kid? What are you doing in here?"

"Hello? Kamino to cadet? Taz, I think there's something wrong with him,"

"Kid? Snap out of it," The trooper Taz was shaking Three Seven.

Yip reached down and scooped him up bridle style and the two troopers rushed from the hanger to the infirmary. But on the way there Three Seven came to and went wild.

"NO! NO! PUT ME DOWN! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" He shouted and scrummed until Yip accidentally dropped him.

"Kid, calm down!" Taz tried to grab him but Three Seven kicked out, his boot landed on Taz's jaw.

Three Seven continued to scream like someone was trying to hurt him.

"Three Seven?!" Shaak Ti rounded a corner and rushed to them.

Immediately she sent him a calming wave through the Force, he fought it at first but then settled down. She approached him cautiously. He was breathing hard and his eyes were unfocused.

"Three Seven?" She placed her hands on his face and closed her eyes.

"Master Shaak Ti?" He blinked.

"Three Seven, what happened?" She looked at him worriedly.

"He kriffing kicked me in the face!" Taz exclaimed.

"Do you need medical treatment, trooper?" She turned her head to look at him, he straightened up.

"No, ma'am. I'll- I'll be alright," He told her.

"Is he ok?" Yip asked and pointed to Three Seven.

"He'll be alright as well," She stood up and pulled Three Seven to his feet. "Do you have something to say to the troopers, Three Seven?"

He looked at Taz then at Yip. He wasn't sure what had happened. He looked down, his eyes wide, searching for something to say. He could feel their apprehension towards him.

"I'm- I'm sorry?" He wasn't sure if that was right.

"It's ok, kid," Yip told him. "Just glad you're ok. Taz here, well he's tough. He'll make it."

Yip punched Taz on his shoulder plate fondly.

"Easy for you to say," Taz glared at Yip. "No hard feelings kid."

They turned and left Shaak Ti and Three Seven. She looked down at him and frowned.

"Let's go," She guided him the way she had come.

They went back to her dormitory. She took a seat on the floor and he sat in front of her. He looked down at his hands.

"I couldn't find you. You worried me," She told him and let out a breath.

"You always find me," He looked up at her.

"But when you go into yourself like that your Force signature becomes void. It takes years of training for Jedi to master that, and you do it out of self preservation. Only you don't seem to function very well when you're doing it," She looked down at him.

"I'm sorry," He looked down.

"You have to stop doing it," She told him. "You hurt one of your brothers."

He sniffed. "I thought Dred found me."

She sighed. "Take a deep breath. Meditate with me."

He did as he was told and closed his eyes. He could feel her all around him, incasing him with all her love of him and his brothers. She loved him more than she should. Jedi weren't suppose to have attachments. He wondered if what he'd called her earlier had affected her at all.

In the two weeks he'd been with her he'd never felt something so deep as the the bond they shared. He never wanted the feeling to go away. It made him feel safe. Invincible even. He only ran because of the what Dred had said, not because of what Dred had done to him. It frightened him that the Kaminoans would get rid of him, and not just send him away but eliminate him completely.

He felt another rush from Shaak Ti, a sort of mental hug. She was reading his thoughts in their meditative state.

"Come here, child," He opened his eyes and she had her arms out.

He crawled over to her and sat in her lap and she put her arms around him. She pressed her cheek against his head.

"I will never let them get rid of you," She whispered to him. "Ner ad."

He held onto her arm. "Ner buir."

He had to do his physical training. There was no getting out of it. Dred and the other cadets continued to torture him. He tuned them out to the sound of his own breathing, or a song Shaak Ti had sang to him one night. Dred celebrated their sixth birthday by making their exercise particularly difficult.

They were more sore than usual but they had to do their training. No one complained the next day even if their bones and muscles protested. Dred had been talked to about his harsh ways with the young cadets and was under constant surveillance from one of the Kaminoans. Their training went a little easier than normal. Still, the cadets didn't let up on teasing Three Seven.

Weeks passed, they steadily grew. And Three Seven's Force abilities became more refined. Secretly he was learning to become aware when he withdrew into himself. He surprised Shaak Ti one evening by sitting in one the lounge chairs, he slept in his own sleeping pod now but he still liked to be around her as much as possible. He withdrew his Force signature and watched her. She was sitting at her desk, writing something on some flimsy, she looked up then looked around.

He looked up from his data pad, hardly containing his smile. She frowned at him.

"You've learned to properly conceal yourself," She sounded disapproving.

"You said the Jedi take years to master it. I did it in three weeks," He smiled.

"Don't do it around me, understood," She told him and went back to her writing.

"Ok," He stood up and walked up behind her and put his arms around her and put his cheek next to hers. "I'm going to bed. Dred is going to make us spar against each other again tomorrow."

"Rest easy, ner ad," She patted his arm.

"You too, buir," He kissed her cheek and left for his pod.

She placed her hand on her cheek and smiled warmly. She knew she shouldn't encourage him but he'd already worked his way into her heart. Especially with the bond they now shared, a bond that a master and padawan might share. He was a Force sensitive after all. He seemed stronger with the Force as he grew, even though Nala Se seemed to think he wouldn't be. Just because he wouldn't be as strong as her or the other Jedi it didn't mean he was weak either.

The next day Three Seven watched as his fellow cadets sparred with each other. No one sparred with him. Dred didn't force anyone to either. He watched them though, learning from their mistakes. He didn't know whether to be grateful or let down that no one wanted to spar with him.

He walked behind the rest as they left for the showers. He stayed quiet as they all jested and laughed with each other. It was the way of it. He was the quiet one. He stayed to himself, usually they would attack him because of it, today they just ignored him completely.

The next day was much the same. He was ignored. Even Dred ignored him.

The day after that they ignored him again. He could feel their satisfaction in the way he looked alone when they were all on the mat practicing, and he was left standing there, watching.

Three Seven voiced his concern with Shaak Ti. She told him not to let it bother him. He could still learn from watching and she would teach him. In the evenings she sparred with him, she went slow so he could learn where to place his feet, how to move and where his next aim should be. He soaked up everything she taught him, happy to learn from his jedi'buir.

The next few weeks went on much like that. His peers and instructor ignored him. Shaak Ti sparred with him in the evenings. She even taught him how to spar with staves. He was becoming a proficient fighter.

Shaak Ti was proud of him, though he still had his brooding mood to overcome. Sometimes she thought it was just his personality, the way he coped with things. After all, he hadn't been taught how to deal with hardships until she came along. By then his old ways were already set in, at least he didn't go catatonic any more.

Today she had to leave and go to the Jedi Temple. She hated to leave him but he couldn't accompany her. She had important business to handle with the other Jedi Council members. They'd said their goodbyes in her dorm.

"When will you be back?" He asked worriedly.

"Soon," She smiled at him and stroked his cheek. "Do not worry. I won't stay gone forever."

He nodded and hugged her. She knew better but hugged him anyway.


End file.
